I'm thinking about buying a drumrack but I still have some questions.
- What is the best advantage over stands?
- Is it profitable to buy a rack for a 6 piece set with 5 cymbals?
- What brand is the best for racks?
- Did you even consider a rack? and if so why did/didn't you buy one?
- Is there anything else I should know?

I bought one about a year ago and havent looked back. For my money I am able to put my drums right where I want them, and I wasnt quite able to do this with stands. I was also limited somewhat on floor space and with a rack you get a smaller foot print.

I play three up and one down and have four cymbal mounts on mine. And I still have room.
I have a pearl Icon rack and looked around a bunch before buying because I felt it was the best buy. I shied away from the round tube brands feeling the square would be more stable. I'm sure you will get more and varying opinions but felt like I would give my 2 cents.

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When I was playing a lot of 1 hour gigs, the rack was a time saver. Throw the kick on stage, the drum rack, attach pedal, snare, throne, floor tom or two. Ready to rock 'n' roll. My experience is HAVE BOTH. I've been on stages/floor spaces so small that the rack wouldn't fit. Leave half the kit at the studio.

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I've played both ways, so here is my experience (and I apologize in advance for its lack of brevity).

I started life as a drummer with one hi hat stand and one cymbal stand (with a 18" crash/ride). My kit was a 4 piece, and I was 12. I didn't even know racks existed.

When I was 14, I bought some guy's huge collection of Paiste cymbals and Tama cymbal stands. Huge, heavy duty numbers, and one stand for each cymbal, even the splash. I think I had 3 crashes, a ride, and a splash in addition to the hats (I sold the 18" crash/ride). With the five heavy duty stands sitting around my 4 piece kit, the footprint was starting to become a problem.

At 16, my cymbals/stands were stolen, so I quit drumming for a while.

At 19, I bought a Ludwig 7 piece from a friend. It came with 2 cymbal stands and a hi hat, plus the ride, crash, and hi hats. The toms were all mounted, so I was dealing with 2 double tom stands as well. This started to become a problem, especially due to the age of the hardware and its resistance to proper positioning. After about 6 months of fiddling, a friend of mine was selling his Gibraltar rack, and I bought it. Suddenly, everything was able to be positioned exactly where I wanted it. I set up my toms slightly off center for easier access, and the rack would let me. I positioned my cymbals where I wanted them, and the rack let me.

As I started buying more and more cymbals, the rack became a fantastic asset to me. When I ran out of clamps, though, it started to get more pricey. I thwarted that by buying the Gibraltar cymbal clamps with boom for $30. I also found out that the more hardware I started mounting to the rack, the heavier and more complicated it became. Although everything stayed positioned correctly, it started taking me 20 or more minutes to get everything unloaded and set up, even for the smallest gig. Minimalist setups were difficult to accomplish because everything was tied up in the rack. Finally, the rack, although it was smaller than having 8 stands sitting around the set, still had a fairly large footprint.

So, at 21, I started to revitalize my old 4 piece and creating a smaller setup. I started using those same Gibraltar booms attached to cymbal stands so that I could use one stand for two cymbals. I could bring out 2 stands and mount 4 cymbals, or I could make due with only one stand and 2 cymbals. The rack was still fantastic to use with the big set, but I found myself using the smaller setup more and more often, especially with the short 30 minute gigs that I was facing.

Fast forward to now. I just bought my new kit, and it came with a Pearl Icon rack and a slew of other hardware. I pretty much ignored the rack, and set about making the cymbal stands work for me. In my practice studio at least, I mount 6 crashes, 2 rides, a china, a splash, and a pair of hats. My 3 toms are all mounted. Here's how it works:

1) Hi hat stand has a boom attached which holds the splash.
2) Boom cymbal stand on the left has another short boom arm attached via a universal clamp, and are able to place two crashes on either side of the hi hat.
3) Double tom stand has another slot for a cymbal stand, so that mounts crash #3.
4) Boom stand mounts crash #4 above the kick drum (it's the only cymbal stand that only holds one thing, and that's merely because I haven't figured out how best to use it for double duty).
5) Cymbal stand holds my ride. Below, a universal clamp holds a tom arm which holds my low tom.
6) Boom stand mounts ride side crash (#5) and Gibraltar attachment holds china.
7) Boom stand mounts my secondary ride and Gibraltar attachment holds crash #6.

So there we go. 7 tripods hitting floor, holding 3 toms and 12 cymbals (wow, I'm excessive). The nice thing is that I can take or leave whatever I want, depending on how much hardware I want to lug out with me. A rack is certainly lighter than hauling one tripod stand for every single thing you want to mount (assuming that you've got more than about three or four stands).

To me, though, the adaptability of stands is the clear winner. I could go out and do a jazz gig with 2-3 cymbals (and use only the stands that hold my toms), or I could go do a rock gig with everything... or anything in between. And if the room is a little tight when I get in, stands are a little more flexible to space restraints.

Now, if you are trying to decide between Gibraltar-style round racks and Pearl style square racks, consider this: Pearl style will require a Pearl clamp and a cymbal tube for every cymbal you want to mount. You can also mount regular percussion equipment clamps to the legs, but those might not be close to where you want them. You can also mount regular percussion clamps to the cymbal arms you've already got mounted to the Pearl, but again, those might not be where it's most convenient.

The Gibraltar style, on the other hand, can accommodate most any percussion mount due to the tube construction. Yes, it's quite a bit bigger than a cymbal stand tube, but most mounts can be made to fit. Also, when in a pinch, the Gibraltar clamps can clamp down on equipment of any size, whereas the Pearl clamps tend to only work for cymbals. When I mounted my toms to the Gibraltar rack, I clamped down on the L-arms and slid my toms right on. With Pearl, I would have had to buy all new tom arms with L-arms attached... Or I would have had to try disassembling my double tom holders and mounting that. The round construction also allows you to mount anything in any direction.

On the other hand, the square construction of the Pearl DOES give a great deal more stability. My rock band's drummer uses a Pearl rack, and he loves it. He now spends more time pulling drums out of the cases than he has to spend setting up hardware. Of course, he's also not changing his setup as often as I do.

The deal for me on racks is simple...once beyond a four-piece it with three cymbals, I rely on a rack for three primary reasons.

First, consistency. All my components (tom arms, booms, etc...) are memory-locked, and the points that can't be (tilters) are marked with vynl tape. Everything that gets clamped to the rack is number-letter coded so anyone can get stuff in the right place. Even the bass is clamped to the rack using an upright tube. Everything is in the exact same place, night after night. No time spent fiddling around to get things where I want them, and anyone can figure the system out, so setup with help is easy.

Second is speed. Even with a larger kit, I can have the entire rig (including mics) from bags to playable very quickly. When I was playing a nine-piece with a swarm of cymbals, I could still be fully out of cases and ready to go in under 10 minutes with no help. Should I need to get off stage for another band some nights, I can yank the drums and cymbals off, then cary the whole rack off-stage for teardown at a more leisurely pace.

Third is lack of bulk/ease of transport. For five-piece and under, with minimal cymbal spreads, stands will take less car space and muscle. Once you get into more cymbals, more toms, or very non-standard layouts, a rack is actually smaller and lighter than the mess of tripods you'd need to get all that stuff in position.

On that last point...I'm talking about a standard three-sided, single-level rack...not a DrumFrame or a "cage"...in those cases, either ego comes into play, or time and money are less important than outright performance and comfort.

Thing is, you must find what your best-fit is. It includes knowing what you're going to be doing (or presently are). How much of a footprint does your set take up? Would it benefit to have "less" in pieces? I've always liked having a lot of cymbals and lot of stands made for a much larger footprint (compared to my rack).

The rack just makes it easier. Transports easier, setup and tear down (as stated above) can be in a flash. I've had my entire set (cymbals and drums) lifted by stage crews to exedite movement.

I'm a PDP round-tube user and haven't had a slip yet. Everything is memory locked. The square-tube Icons are hella-nice though. I would say that I wouldn't go with anything but the PDP or the Pearl Icon. Both relativelly priced the same nowadays (for what you get).

Check out sticksnstonesrus's cymbal arm setup- this, to me, is the biggest advantage of round racks- angles. Clamp the boom down and move it into whatever position you want. With a square rack, you'll need the vertical tube AND a boom arm to be clamped to your kit. You can also use the 2 piece cymbal arm with the round rack, but the additional options are what makes it superior to me- that and the ability to use any percussion mount.

Best of luck in your decision. It really just comes down to your own preference... and it will probably change again a few years down the road.

- What is the best advantage over stands? Takes up less space, no hassle to move all the stands around.

- Is it profitable to buy a rack for a 6 piece set with 5 cymbals? Definetly, you'll spend way more on stands than a couple clamps for a rack.

- What brand is the best for racks? What brand isn't the best for racks? But if you don't like big boxy racks, don't go with Pearl (although, it doesn't affect it, it's just as good as any other rack). Right now I'm using aTama rack.

- Did you even consider a rack? and if so why did/didn't you buy one? I baught one because for one, it looks cool. But I really baught it because its cheaper than buying stands, it's much easier and more compact. Easier to lug around for gigs, and very ajustable.

- Is there anything else I should know? Know this, if you buy a rack tighten your screws after a gig, or heavy playing. We don't want anything falling off

I've already got a few stands but thats not enough for the cymbals I'm planning on buying.
I'll probably will use those if I have a small gig or unplugged or something like that and buy the cymbal holders for all new cymbals I buy.
That way I still have the choice to play with stands on small gigs and other wise play with the rack or part of it.

I've already got a few stands but thats not enough for the cymbals I'm planning on buying.
I'll probably will use those if I have a small gig or unplugged or something like that and buy the cymbal holders for all new cymbals I buy.
That way I still have the choice to play with stands on small gigs and other wise play with the rack or part of it.

Thanks alot guys for the help
more posts are always welcome.

I have three stands supporting four toms and six cymbals (not counting hats). If someone is wasteful with space and weight, they will have a forest of stands around the kit and do things like use a double-braced weighted boom stand to support a single splash cymbal.

If you think about what you really need and research items to save space and time (i.e., DW Dog Bones, Puppy Bones, etc.) you can use stands economically.

I have three stands supporting four toms and six cymbals (not counting hats). If someone is wasteful with space and weight, they will have a forest of stands around the kit and do things like use a double-braced weighted boom stand to support a single splash cymbal.

If you think about what you really need and research items to save space and time (i.e., DW Dog Bones, Puppy Bones, etc.) you can use stands economically.

I've always appreciated your inputs DMC, so not to "sound" like I'm on an opposing side or anything.

How often does your setup come down and get moved? Is it painful to get the setup exact again?

While having three of this and four of that hanging from one stand makes for great use of the vertical points, wouldn't it be equally (more, if you ask me) complexive to setup/teardown ? I presume that if you did take your setup on the road it wouldn't be near as much as you have in the home though, right?

Just wondering. I've never thought to ask if your setup goes anywhere...

I starded with a standard 5 piece kit. Then build it bigger with extra's untill I needed a rack for traveling. It became the pearl icon rack. This rack was (and is) very sturdy. Only downside was the blocked shape, ut quick to setup and good to travel with in a hardcase. After that Ive got back to stands. But because they where the 900 series stands, they where very heavy to carry around (though still easier to travel and to set up differently one in a while)

And now im back to the rack (Hex Rack) and the rack was out last weekend and it was uite an experience...

To travel I had a hardware caddy from rockbag... That was not enough... luckyly I had a hihatstand bag from Yammie so I could tak the feet of the legs to. And it was quite heavy with all the boom arms (8) tom holders (5) hihat stand/closed hh (2) and the rack itself with clamps (13, not including any spd-s holder, sub holder etc.) offcourse.

Quicker setup time? Yes. Last weekend it took me (offcourse all numbered, marked etc.) +/-30 min. to setup (from getting it out of the boxes to the moment it stands) If you're playing on a festival and want to play on you're own kit this is to much time (ok, you could set it up back-stage, but there's not always time or possibility to do that) And with stands marked and placed on a marked carpet (im still using that system with my rack) you can be done in 15 minutes.

I should point out that racks do tend to speed up transitions for multi-band events.

My band's drummer uses a Pearl rack, and he'll get everything mounted on the rack offstage. Then, we just get 2-4 people to move the rack up to the drum riser. Drop the kick drum beneath, add a snare, floor tom, hi hat, and throne, and he's ready to rock. He can be set up and ready to play in 90 seconds. It's even faster to get him offstage.

We've even had him pre-mic'd before. Mics are mounted to drums offstage, and all you have to do is plug in.

Cymbal stands can be moved quickly and easily, but they must still be adjusted, which can take a while.

I've always appreciated your inputs DMC, so not to "sound" like I'm on an opposing side or anything.

How often does your setup come down and get moved? Is it painful to get the setup exact again?

While having three of this and four of that hanging from one stand makes for great use of the vertical points, wouldn't it be equally (more, if you ask me) complexive to setup/teardown ? I presume that if you did take your setup on the road it wouldn't be near as much as you have in the home though, right?

Just wondering. I've never thought to ask if your setup goes anywhere...

I gig out once every three to four weeks, so my stuff gets moved on a regular basis. I usually take the entire set with me. I have memory locks and clamps on my stands for faster setup and nail polish in the places where a memory clamp won't work. Since I only have four stands for a six-piece set (including hats, snare, toms, five cymbals and a cowbell) it works well. But it took some planning to get things to that point.The only thing that's a bit tricky is the stand positions.

If I had a rack system, I'd be having to mount the same number of things on a rack.

I gig out once every three to four weeks, so my stuff gets moved on a regular basis. I usually take the entire set with me. I have memory locks and clamps on my stands for faster setup and nail polish in the places where a memory clamp won't work. Since I only have four stands for a six-piece set (including hats, snare, toms, five cymbals and a cowbell) it works well. But it took some planning to get things to that point.The only thing that's a bit tricky is the stand positions.

If I had a rack system, I'd be having to mount the same number of things on a rack.

Do you have a rug/carpet? I've seen some people either tape or paint the positions of the feet on. I guess it would become an issue if you didn't have the space for the carpet to fit, thus the kit, huh?

If you have several toms and cymbals a rack is an excellent investment.

I have a pearl icon and love it. But recently, i find it very heavy and big to put in my car, so if its possible to reduce the number of stands and space, then do it because im beginning to think its not worth it

Do you have a rug/carpet? I've seen some people either tape or paint the positions of the feet on. I guess it would become an issue if you didn't have the space for the carpet to fit, thus the kit, huh?

I do have a carpet, but it's 2 feet by 3 feet to conserve space. It's one of those olefin rubber back/nappy top carpets used in public buildings. It barely holds the hihat stand, who percussion pedals and bass pedal in place. I have tape markings on the carpet at home, however.

That is the one problem in my system, accurate stand placement. Having so few stands means I have less to align, but on the other hand, if just one stand is out of alignment, all the toms and cymbals on it are also out of alignment!

I do have a carpet, but it's 2 feet by 3 feet to conserve space. It's one of those olefin rubber back/nappy top carpets used in public buildings. It barely holds the hihat stand, who percussion pedals and bass pedal in place. I have tape markings on the carpet at home, however.

That is the one problem in my system, accurate stand placement. Having so few stands means I have less to align, but on the other hand, if just one stand is out of alignment, all the toms and cymbals on it are also out of alignment!

Makes sense. The only adjustments I sometimes have to do is either with the rack-legs to accomodate a drum riser or the actual windage of the side-arms because of a small amount of play in the memory locks. That distance multiplied by a couple feet makes for a couple inches difference at the end of an side arm. Enough to notice when your floor tom or hi-hat is a little too close or far.

Looks good!
Nice rack too I think I'm going to buy same setup
so long side extension for floortoms and ride and short one for the hi hat side.
I think I'm going for gibraltar because I like the round tubing and Gibraltar is sold in Holland too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MusiQmaN

My rack at the momenbt:

I starded with a standard 5 piece kit. Then build it bigger with extra's untill I needed a rack for traveling. It became the pearl icon rack. This rack was (and is) very sturdy. Only downside was the blocked shape, ut quick to setup and good to travel with in a hardcase. After that Ive got back to stands. But because they where the 900 series stands, they where very heavy to carry around (though still easier to travel and to set up differently one in a while)

And now im back to the rack (Hex Rack) and the rack was out last weekend and it was uite an experience...

To travel I had a hardware caddy from rockbag... That was not enough... luckyly I had a hihatstand bag from Yammie so I could tak the feet of the legs to. And it was quite heavy with all the boom arms (8) tom holders (5) hihat stand/closed hh (2) and the rack itself with clamps (13, not including any spd-s holder, sub holder etc.) offcourse.

Quicker setup time? Yes. Last weekend it took me (offcourse all numbered, marked etc.) +/-30 min. to setup (from getting it out of the boxes to the moment it stands) If you're playing on a festival and want to play on you're own kit this is to much time (ok, you could set it up back-stage, but there's not always time or possibility to do that) And with stands marked and placed on a marked carpet (im still using that system with my rack) you can be done in 15 minutes.